Golden: The Collection

Chapter II: A Strange Sanctuary

"We need a plan," Astrophelle decided. The sensation of sunlight had stirred all three of them awake. Lloyd, upon waking up, created a nest for the jackalope using pillows and blankets in the corner of the living room.

"There's no way I can go back to living a normal life after this." He leaned against the sofa. "It's merely a matter of time before Zomboss catches wind of what happened at the zoology lab and looks over the security footage. I was also supposed to talk with him last night.. which I didn't do. All that does is paint me in an even more suspicious light." 

"Hmm." Lloyd hummed. "So we're both in hiding now?"

"Aye, and the only way we'll be able to get out of this unscathed is if we leave Zomburbia, I reckon."

"Leave Zomburbia!" Lloyd's eyes went all wide-like. "Where would we even go?"

"Well.." Astrophelle's first thought would be the Kingdoms. However, even the expeditions were considered risky, so staying there indefinitely was out of the question. Next stop would be the other realms, such as Thlamys. However, those were currently inaccessible, and even if they could access them, they were exceedingly dangerous, similar to the Kingdoms. Too much of a gamble, even with a Gembearer. There was another option, however.

"..Tell me, how much do you know about before the Grand Conflict?"

"Ehh..."

"Zombies used to be in charge of Choria, though Zomburbia was the home base. Zomburbia itself was formerly called Suburbia before we took it, as a matter of fact. Anyhow, then the plants revolted, or something, and Zomboss faked his own demise. With a few Top Zombies by his side, he fled to Zomburbia and hid this city from the undiscerning eye via enchantment. Since then, we've lived in Choria, but not where the plants can see us. We're able to slip in and out of this barrier, but the plants cannot.
"All of that is known as the Grand Conflict, though the part with us being hidden is not in plant history, of course. Moving to my point, I've read tales of other landmasses in Choria the zombies were forced to abandon when being chased out. It's likely those landmasses are untouched by the plants, as, according to my sources, they're only accessible via portal."

"Great, so—"

"There's.. just one slight problem."

Lloyd internally winced. "When you say 'slight,' do you mean..?"

"I mean this rumored portal is supposedly in Headquarters—"

"Arghhhhh—"

"—is under heavy surveillance—

"Arghhhhh—"

"—by Top Zombies."

"Seriously? It never gets easier! We might as well just take Zomboss himself down!" Lloyd huffed.

"We'll do nothing of the sort. Everything I know is because of.." Astrophelle trailed off, prompting Lloyd to arch a brow at him. For some reason, he couldn't finish that sentence.

"Uhh.. because of what?"

"..Nevermind that." Astrophelle dismissed. "We'll take today to rest, but tomorrow, we'll have to start with mapping out the entirety of Headquarters and go from there. It's likely Zomboss will wish to keep the news of the Lab under wraps, but the Top Zombies will doubtlessly be alerted. I'd say we have three days before they know. We must escape prior to that. If they don't capture us shortly after the alert is released, I presume Zomboss will make it a full-on bounty hunt in letting the public know as well. A reward will be put out for anyone to collect, so zombies of all social classes will be aiming at us."

"Got it!" Lloyd said. "What're we gonna do 'bout your Core Ability, by the by? You, uh, got a little insane yesterday."

"Ah.. that. From what I've gathered, it activates through a rather unorthodox mean; it latches onto whatever strong emotion I'm feeling in the moment, intensifies it to the maximum power, to the point where that's the absolute thing I'm capable of feeling until it deactivates. It also grants me physical boosters of some sort."